Electro-mechanical type-writer



(No Model.) 3-Sheets-Sheet 1..

J. F. MGLAUGHLIN. ELECTED MECHANICAL TYPE WRITER. No. 885,565. PatentedJuly 3, 1888.

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N. PEIERS. Phalolithognyher. Washington. D. C.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2..

(No Model.)

J. P. MGLAUGHLIN.

ELECTED MECHANICAL TYPE WRITER.

No. 385,565. Patented July 3, 1888.

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(No Model.)

J. F. MbLAUGHLIN.

ELECTED MEGHANIGAL TYPE WRITER.

Patented July '3, 1888.

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N. PETERS Pmwm ognv e Walhi [UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELEOTRO-MECHANlC-AL TYPE-WRITER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Application an March ra se-1.

"To all whom it may concern):

Beit known that I, JAMES F. MoLAUGHLiN,

acitizen of the United States, residing at Phila delphia, in the countyof Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in EIectroMechanical Movements for 'lypeLevers andAdjustable Type Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appeu taius to make and use thesame.

My invention relates .to a combined mechanical and electromechanicalmovement for. the type-levers of my electrical type-writer, which formsthe subject-matter of several applications now pending in the UnitedStates- Patent Oilieethat is to say, this invention has for its objectto adapt the-aforesaid instru: ment, when placed, respectively, at twoextremities of a line-wire, to record orv imprint a letter or characterlocally at one extremity ,of said line by a single mechanical action ofthe key-board and corresponding type-lever,

toutilize such mechanical action to simulta neonsly impart and transmitan electricalimpulse, to-t-hedistant extremity of the line, and toeffect the rcgistration'of a corresponding letter or character at suchdistant extremity by the electro-meelnmical movement of a similartype-lever.

My invention consists in an organization of apparatus whereby theseobjects may be attained, and in' certain details of construction,arrangements,aml eombinationsoi'parts, which will be more fullydescribed hereinafter, and the specific points of novcltyin which willbe designated in the appended claims.

My invention consists, further, in the new" and improved constructionoftypelevrskeyboard, and letter-type,-whereby the style of letters,characters, or symbols used, both on the t pe-levers and key-board, maybe'readily and conveniently removed and'iuterchanged, as will behereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illiistra'te certainappliances for carrying out my invention, Figu re 1 is aperspective viewwith parts broken away and partly in section, showing the arrangementand conner.

'Fig. 5 is a comprehensive understanding struction of the type-leversand auxiliary Serial No. 232.548. (No model) parts when used locally ina mechanical man- Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical view illustrating two of mymovements, respectively, at each extremity of two line-circuits, showinghow they may be operated in a combined niechanicaland electromechanicalmanner. Fig.- 3 is a detail perspective view, partly in section,

of the pivotal support for the key-levers. Fig.

4 is a longitudinal section -on line a; m Fig. 3.

a transverse section on line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detailperspective, with parts broken away, showing the manner of mounting andsecuring the interchangeable fingerkey npon-the'key-levers. Fig. 7 is: adetail view, partly in section, of the end of the typelever, showing bletype. 1 Fig. 8 is a of a type-lever shown in top plan view of the endFig. 7. Fig. 9 is a view-in elevation of the securing-hilt for theremovable letter-type.

Like numbers of reference indicate corresponding parts inal-l thefiguresof the drawings.

-Referr1ng to the drawings by nu1nbers, l inthe construction of theinsertidicates a metallic conducting-ring, which is suitably fastened tothe base 2 and provided with a series of binding-posts, 3 3, (only onebeing shown,) located at proper intervals thereupon, opposite andcorresponding .to 'a series of electro-magnets, 4. 4.

Before proceeding further with an explanation of the different featuresof this invention it may be necessary to here state that only thecomponent and essential details have been shown which are deemedsufficiently clear for of the follow: ing description. Therefore it willbe understood that only two of a series of circularly-an rangedmagnets,4 4., and two type-levers are shown; that the travelingcarriage, paper-roll, paper'feeding and'inl'ring mechanism, theletterand line spacing devices, and other details of arrangement andconstruction of parts, which are nnnecessaryfor a clear understanding ofthe nature and operation of this invention, have not been illustrated.

The series of eleetro-magnets 4 4 correspond--- in number and relativesituation to the keys I 5 5 ofthe key-1evers 6 6, and are secured incircular order inside of to the ring 1 upon a suitable base of hardrubrdC and in proximity to 'ber or other insulating material (not shown)fastened toithe bottom 2"of the casing of the instrument. Each of thesemagnets isof the ordinary construction, except their lower poles 5 areeach converted and brought up parallel to the side of its magnet-helix,forming substantially an elbow-shaped frame, as shown, the object ofsuch constructionbeiug to. utilize the magnetic force of attraction ofboth poles :0 upon the respective extremities of the met-angular-sluiped armatures 7 7, as shown in g designates anon-conducting slotted ring of greater diameter than the ring 1, andsupported in the elevated position by the standards 9 9 (only one beingshown) the requisite height above the base 2 to allow the pivotedarmatures 7 7 to be above, yet in proximity to,

their respective electro-magnets. This ring is provided with a centralannular slot, 10, running circumferentially therein, and in which aresecured the adjustable supporting plates or brackets 11 11, having thearmatures 7 7 Y pivotally connected between their inwardly- 2 projectingextensions by pivot-pins. (See Fig.1.)

The adjustable supporting-plates 11 11 consist' each of a baseplate, 12,made preferably,

of some insulating substance and formedcurved or convex to conform withthe curvature of the ring 8, the adjusting-screw 13, and the parallelsupporting arms or lugs'ld 14, be-

tween which latter is pivoted one of the rectangular elbow-shapedarmatures 7-7, as shown in Fig. 1, one support being broken away to showthe section of the pivot-pin, having its horizontal arm 15 providedwitha perforation, through which is passed the double eye bolt or pintle16, the perpendicular arm 17 of said armature projecting downwardly in,the vicinity of the pole 18 of the magnet 4.

- 19 is one of a suitable number of standards which support'and securethe-type-lever ring 20 the desired height above the base 2 of the ,5casing. This ring is of less diameter than ring 8, and is similarlyprovidedwith an aunular transverse slot, 21, running centrally andcircumferentially therein, the object, of this construction b'ei ng toallow the type-leversosupporting brackets 22 to be adjusted at regularintervals or degrees around the ring and at any desired angle in thesaid slot. Each one of these type lever-supporting brackets 22 is-of thesame construction as the plates 11 5 11, and serve," respectively, *aspivotal supports for the fnlcrumed weighted type levers 23 23, whichcarry each a type-letter, character, or punctuation-mark correspondingto its respective key 5. The series of type-levers, 30 only one of whichis shown, are, as before stated, fulcrumed near the .upper endswby asuitable pivot-pin between the projectinglugsof the supporting-brackets22 22, and are each formed of a single straight metallic rod, 24, of 6 5a lengthequal to a radius of the'riug 20. Upon the forward freeeud ofeach rod 24 is depended or secured aperforated ball or weight, 25, intowhich are respectively-placed one of the insertible and interchangeabletypes 26, (see Fig. 7,) and the upper end of said rod' is formedbifurcated, as shown, the upper end of the flexible liuk-connection27being secured upon a pin, 28, between the prongs, and the lower end ofsaid'link-connection being suitably fastened to the doubleeyebolt'lfi,hereinbefore described. t

The letter-type 26 is formed of hardened steel,assh own,with theletterorcharacter upon its face. {These type are each made substantially in -heform of a headed bolt, with its stemol'piercingtheball25,aud'screw-threaded on its lower'end to allowthe'adjusta'ble clamp ing-nut 29 to be fasteued upon the extreu ity orportion'whichprojects beyond the under side of the ball 25, suchconstruction allowing 35 the type to be securely fastened in its seatand to be verticallyadjristed at difl'ereut heights above the plane-ofthe upper portion ofthe weight-ball, The header shoulder 30' fitssquarely upon the top surface of the, ball 25,

which is flattened or leveled both on its hot-- tomand" top surfaces, asshown clearly in- Fig.7. '7

The nut 29 may beluadeju various forms, as'desirablesuch, for instance,as the style shown in Fig.- 9, which is formed with two apertures, 3131, designed to admit therein trance of a bifurcated key,(notsho\vn,)whereby the same maybe removed and readjusted orinterchanged. v j I :All of the type-levers 23 23 are of exactly thesame length, and have their supports so arranged in the circular slot21' that they will strike at acentral point when forced up againsttallic'key-levers 6-6 are pivotally secured at their forward ends to atransverse non-couducting rod, 32, which is loosely mounted i n a'woodenboxing, 33. (See Figs. 3, 4, aud5f) This boxing is provided with aremovable lid 1' [O or top ofi hardrubber, 34, and wit-h a longitudinalcircular aperture,35.in which is loosely inserted the pivot-rod 32,before mentioned.

36 36 represent a series of transverse per-.

pendicularslotsin the said boxing-to admit n of the entrance andvpivotal play of the le-. vers66'.

5 5 are thefi'nger-keys carrying the letters, &c., which are attached tothe outward ends of the parallel key-levers 6 6.

The letters of the-keyboard are each suitablydelineated upon an ivory orcelluloid or other insulating-plate, 37, as shown in Fig. 6, which plateis .providedwith sloping or iu-- clined sides, and is adapted to slideunder the [2'5 lateral flanges of the-kc support 38, the object of thisconstruction eing to allow the letter-plates to be easily removed forcleaning or other purposes.

The key-support 38 consists of an upper. i o plate, 39, having theflanges before mentioned,

and the bifurcated stem 40, the whole being preferably formed in onesingle piece. This key holder or support is rigidly fastened to all ofthe key-levers by a pin passing through the forked ends of the stem andthe levers 6 6, as shown in Fig. 6.

41 designates a tlexiblelink-conuection sub stantially-similar to theconnection 27 ,which is attached at its upper end inthc lower eye of theeyebolt-lG, and at its'lower end is $6- cured suitably to its respectivekey-lever 6. In accordance with such arrangement it would then bepreferableto have the base provided with ascries of apertures in aperpendicular line with the ends'of the horizontal arms of the armatures7, thereby allowing the parallel key-levers to be below said base andthe flexible connections-to pass through said apertures. The armatures 77 correspond in number and relative situation with their respective keysand key-levers. Thus it will be readily understood that by means of theinterchangeable and removable letter-type and letter-plates the style ofprinting performed by the machine may bereadily and conveniently variedby simply substituting the desired style of characters, letters, orsymbols, which can be accomplished in a comparatively short space oftime by means of the adjustable devices before mentioned Furthermore, bythis con st'ruction I am enabled to utilize stenographic characters, ifdesired. Furthermore, inasmuch as both the letter-typeand finger-keysare removable, the style of finger-keys can be correspondingly changedto accord with any variation or substitution of letter-type. ample, ifthe ordinary English letter-type was supplemented by 'stenographiccharacters and the old finger-plates remained upon the keys, it would beimpossible for the operator to determine what key to depress in order toeffect,

the imprint of the desired stenographjc character. 4

Referring to the diagrammatical view shown in Fig. 2, each lever 6 and6*,is provided with a suitable retractingspring, 42,. forthe obviouspurpose of restoring the lever to its normal position after depression.underneath each key 5 and on the under side of each key-lever 6 6" islocated a smallcontact-point, 43, which is designed to makecontact witha similar point-, 44, when a key is depressed, the contact-point 44being in circuit with the battery 45 or 54 by wire 46, and the levers 66*, carrying the points 43 43, being in circuit with their correspondingelectro magnets, 4' and 4, by wires 47 and 48, respectively.

In Fig.2 at each extremity of two line-circnits is placed one of thebefore described movements. The depression of the lever 6 at the stationA will in Fig. l t'o be forced by mechanical action up against thepaper-roll, (notshowm) and at the same time such depression will closethe circuit from-the battery45 and simultaneously cause the magnet 4 atstation B to be ener- For ex- Directly g cause the type-lever showngiz'ed and toattract its respectivepivoteu armature, and thereby effectthe registration of its corresponding type-lever against a paper-rolland making asimilar imprint, but in an electromechanical manner. W'henthe circuit is broken by the removal of the operators finger and by therestoration of the lever 6* by-the retracting agency of its spring, themagnet 4 at station B will be de-energized. Likewise the depression ofthe lever 6 .at station B will effect the imprint at its respective"type'lever against a paper-roll in a mechanical manner and asimilarimprint of acorrespontt ing type-lever at station A in anelectromechanical manner. v

I have deemed it necrssary in order to clearlyillustrate my invention toshowtwo independcut line-circuitsin Fig.2, the said circuits extending.respectively, between each key-lever 6 and 6 at the station A'or B toits corre-' sponding magnets atthe other or distant station. However,'it'will be understood that any equivalent arrangement of :circuits'maybe adopted, since it is obvious that the mango ner of connecting thecircuits forms no partot' this invention.

The armaturesjand their respective type,

levers being arrangedcircularly above the base 2, the key-levers 6 and6" being substan 9 tially the diameters of thecircle around which thesaid armatures and 'type;levers are dis posed, and the said key-leversbeing preferably of different lengths for economizing space for theletters on the key-board, it will be apparent that the shorter levers,6" 6", will have to be depressed a greater distance than it theyterminated in the outer row. Therefore. it will again be obvious thatthe distance fro n| the contact-points 43 430i said shorter levers tothe points 44 44'is greater than from such points on the longer levers,as shown in Fig. .2. When any one of the type levers 23 23 reaches thelimit of its descent,the ball 25 will strike one of the spring-fingers49 49, which are shown in Fig. 1, thereby effecting the con- "tact ofthe in wardl y-prty'ectingstud ,of said fin" er with the ring 50, thusclosing a secondary circuitwhich operates the spacing mechanism, theelectro' magnet of which is shown in Fig. 1,.the retractibility of thespring-fingers being sulficient to overcome the force of the fall of theparticular type-lever and the weight of the ball 25.v v v I Theauxiliary parts and devices necessary for the eificient operation of thefeatures herein shownand described have been illustrated, de-' thescribed, and claimed in my several pending applications respectivelybearing serial numbers 219,616, 217,338, 218,698, and 221,239,:andfiled, respectively, on November 23, 1886, Oetober 27, 1886', November12, 1886, and December 10, 1886. Such, therefore, are not described orclaimed herein; but

What I do claim isi.

1. The combination, with the circuit-closing key-levers, of intermediatemechanism con- IsC A ceases 5 necti ng each key-lever with itsrespective ty lever, whereby the imprint oft-he said type- .lever ismechanically'cliected by the depres-- sion of its-respective key-lever,the electro-m'echanical devices at.a distant extremitynof alineopcratcdiby each depression of the said hey-levers for effecting animprint of a corre-v spending type lever at said distant extremitysimultaneously with the registration before mentioned, the circuit,and-a suitable source of electricity, the who'lebeing arranged to opamanner and for the purpose set type-levers, the line-circuit, and asuitable source of electricity, the whole being'arranged to close anelectrical circuit simultaneously with the depression ofa key-lever andthe consequentimprint of a. type-lever, as speci- 3. 'In combination, aseries of electro-magk nets, each provided with, a pivoted armatureconnected with one of a seriesof type-levers,

faseriesof pivoted t-ype-levers'carrying upon their free ends theinsertible letter-type, the circuit-closing levcrs'each attached by asuitable connection with one of the seriesofcpivotedarmatures,theline'cireuitconnectingeach of said key-leverswith a. corresponding electro-maguet at a distant extremity of the saidline, the second series of electro-magnets at said distant extremityrespectively in circuit with theircorrespondingkcy levcrsat the first.mentioned extremity, and a suitable source of electricity, all arrangedto operate substantial'lyas specified.

t 4. The combination of the eurrent-conducti ng springs,

ing circuit-closing key-levers pivotallysecured at their inner-ends to apivot-rod, the retractthe insulated boxing supporting said-pivot-rod andhaving the transverse -re- 'cesses 36 36 for the ends of the key-levers,the

circuit, and a suitable source of electricity.-

5: The circuit-closing key-levers, the intermediate mechanism connectingthe said keylevers with their respective pivoted type-lea vers andadapted .to mechanically efi'ect an imprint of atype-lever by thedepression of any one key-lever, the seriesot' pivoted typeleversprovided each with a ball or weight at its .forw'ard free end for thepurpose of closing a local circuit upon the descent of its respect-' ivetype-lever, the sprin'gcontact-fingers and ring, and the local circuit,in combination with the primary cii-cuit, as specified.

' speei lied.

"c. The combination, with the pivot-ed type plates, as shown, and thelink-connection between the said key and true levers, as set forth.

' 7. The pivoted type-levers. provided each with removable insertibletype and suitable perforated balls or weights at their free ends {orthedual purpose of closing, by virtue of their weight, the local circuitand supporting the'adjustableinsertibletype,and crating said pivotedtype-levers circuit, asset forth.

8. The combination of the series of pivoted type-levers providedwithballs or weights on their free ends, the balls or weights having aperpendicular aperture therethrough, and the adjustable interchangeablelcttertypc. as set' forth.

means-forop 40 and the local 9. The"combinatiou of the weight-ballsatfixed to the free ends of the't-ypelevers, the insertible adjustablelcttertype having shouldots on theirupper ends and screw-threaded attheir lower extremities, and means forsccu-ring said letter-type intheiveightballs, as described.

1 0. The combination of the type-levers, con'- sisting-cach-of astraightmetallic rod formed bifurcated at' itsupper' end and provided at', itslower extremity with a weight'ball having a a' perpendicular aperturetherethrough,the whole being formed in one single piece, with thelelter-type-having the letter or character upon its face, the stem, andshoulder, 'also'all cast in one single piecc, an d the securing-nut, asspecified; '5

11. The combination, with the key-levcrs,

oft-he pivoted type-levers carrying the weightballs provided withinsertible adjust'able'letter-type, and a snitahleconnection betweensaid key and type levers, as shown. rco

. 12. As a new article 'of manufacture, a typelever provided with weightballs provided tially as specified.

v 13. The combination, with the type levers, of the weightballsprovidedwith insertible adjustable letter-type, the key-levcrs having removableletter-plates, and a sditable connection between said key'and typelevers, as j v with insertible adiustable letter-type, substan- [IO Intestimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, J. F. MCLAUGHLIN. \Vitnesses:

.E. L. WHITE, GEo. H. TIoHENoR.

m thrill

